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Digital Experience PlatformApplication · Liferay

CVE-2023-33945

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-05-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 7.4.3.17 or later.
See remediation →
90/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
SQL injection vulnerability in the upgrade process for SQL Server in Liferay Portal 7.3.1 through 7.4.3.17, and Liferay DXP 7.3 before update 6, and 7.4 before update 18 allows attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via the name of a database table's primary key index. This vulnerability is only exploitable when chained with other attacks. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must modify the database and wait for the application to be upgraded.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

SQL injection vulnerability in Liferay's database upgrade process for SQL Server allows attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands through the name of a database table's primary key index. The vulnerability is only exploitable when chained with other attacks requiring prior database modification by the attacker.

MitigationUpgrade Liferay to version 7.3.6+, 7.4.18+, or 7.4.3.18+ to patch the vulnerability. Since this occurs during upgrade, test the upgrade process thoroughly in a non-production environment before deploying to production.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Digital Experience PlatformApplication
Affected:= 7.3= 7.4
Liferay PortalApplication
Affected:>= 7.3.1, <= 7.3.7>= 7.4.0, <= 7.4.3.17

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Liferay Portal version
    Check the Lifer Portal version by reviewing the portal-ext.properties file, the OSGi bundle metadata, or the Lifer Portal Control Panel under Server Information. The version is typically displayed in the format 7.3.x or 7.4.x.x.
    Affected if The installed version falls within 7.3.1 to 7.3.7 or 7.4.0 to 7.4.3.17.
  2. Confirm database type is SQL Server
    Review the database configuration in portal-ext.properties or portal-setup-wizard.properties. Look for the jdbc.url parameter showing a Microsoft SQL Server connection string (e.g., jdbc:sqlserver://...).
    Affected if The underlying database is Microsoft SQL Server.
  3. Verify database upgrade module is in use
    Determine if a database upgrade is being performed or has been performed. Check for upgrade processes running via the Upgrade Tool or through the Control Panel's Database Upgrade utility.
    Affected if The database upgrade process is being executed or scheduled.
  4. Assess database modification exposure
    Review database access controls and audit logs to determine if an attacker could modify database objects such as primary key index names. Check for weak database user permissions or compromised credentials.
    Affected if Attacker can modify database objects including primary key index names in the Lifer database.

A user is affected if their Lifer Portal/DXP version is 7.3.1-7.3.7 or 7.4.0-7.4.3.17, they use SQL Server, and an attacker can modify primary key index names in the database during or before an upgrade.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 7.4.3.17
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Liferay to version 7.3.6+, 7.4.18+, or 7.4.3.18+ to patch the vulnerability. Since this occurs during upgrade, test the upgrade process thoroughly in a non-production environment before deploying to production.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

LXP/DXP 7.3 Update 6 or later; LXP/DXP 7.4 Update 18 or later

  1. 1. Identify your current LXP/DXP version (7.3.x or 7.4.x) using the Liffelay Control Panel or version info
  2. 2. For LXP/DXP 7.3: Upgrade to version 7.3 Update 6 or later
  3. 3. For LXP/DXP 7.4: Upgrade to version 7.4 Update 18 or later
  4. 4. Before upgrading, backup your database and Liffelay installation
  5. 5. Follow Lifeleler's official upgrade documentation for your specific version
  6. 6. Test the upgrade in a staging environment before deploying to production
  7. 7. Verify the upgrade process completes successfully and the application functions normally
Caveat Standard upgrade risks apply - review breaking changes in Liffelay release notes before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Digital Experience Platform Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,380
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-33945 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data